We decided to go to Belize as it happened to be an escape from the chilly Northeast for a few days. It turned to be a wonderful trip not only for the climate, but had so much to offer for such a small country. It has the Caribbean vibe with sunny beaches, historic relevance with its Mayan ruins and greenery that feeds a diverse flora and fauna.

After landing in Belize City, we took a ride to San Ignacio that took about 2.5 hours including a lunch stop at a ‘Cheers’ (with a tropical twist 😊) on the way. The meal was refreshing with a view of their lushy farm in the backdrop. By the time we reached the Crystal Paradise Resort Hotel, it was almost dark. Checked in and had dinner right there as this place was away from the town. During dinner, we indicated to the concierge that we want to combine bird watching on our way to the Caracol Mayan Ruins.

Caracol

The trip was only for the two of us and the guide AbimaelMoralez was an excellent guy who has keen eyes and ears. Just the vocalization of the birds is enough for him to spot them! The path from the hotel to Caracol took us through smaller villages, even away from towns.

We went through Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve and passed the Makal River to enter the Caracol site. Along the way, we stopped at several spots for bird watching, the first being at the guide’s house surrounded by farms and greenery. He had built his house on stilts even though there is no possibility of water flooding in those hills. Come to find out, this style has several purposes, including good aeration during those hot summer days, place to dry your laundry on those rainy days or to just to chill in a hammock! Right there, he spotted several species of birds, including Great Egret, White-winged Doves, Golden-fronted woodpeckers, Red-lored parrots, Olive-throated parakeets, Great Kiskadees, Tropical Kingbirds, Gray Catbird, Melodius Blackbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, Yellow-winged Tanager and Black-headed Saltators, Keel-billed toucan

The road through Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve was literally a mud road and is being constructed with support from EU and Kuwait. In this area, we saw several British military trucks with soldiers and the guide indicated that every year the British come here for training in the forests. Looks like they never want to let go of any ‘commonwealth’! Along the way, he took us through some side roads into woods where there are still military barracks that had been abandoned since the British Colonial times. Nature had taken over this area completely and it is housing several species of birds there that he was able to spot for us: Turkey Vulture, Acorn Woodpecker, Laughing Falcon, Black-headed Siskins, Rusty sparrow and Rufus-capped Warblers.

The highlight was waiting in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve-Ranger Station area. We spotted several predator birds soaring high in the sky as the day has gotten warmer – Hook-billed kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Double-toothed Kite, White Hawk. Of this, the guide got very excited to have spotted the swallow-tailed kite as it was his first sighting of this bird for the season as they tend to migrate from south only during February.

Even more exciting for him as well as for us is the spotting of a Scarlet Macaw pair that flew just over our head and perched on the branch of a tall tree right beside us. It was the greatest highlight of our birding trip!

We entered the Caracol Monument area, next. The ruins were nestled inside what appeared like a forest. That shows how well and quickly nature can take over an area abandoned by humans. Many theories suggest the Mayan civilization’s decline is due to their deforestation actions to support their huge population. The decimation of the vegetation had in turn decimated Mayan population due the lack of rain, drought and famine that followed. When you see the area today, it is hard to believe that this area had drought. That is how much nature had taken over. Of the flora seen there, the guide highlighted a few trees and their specialty. The Gumbolimbo tree had a trunk that seemed like peeling its sun-tanned skin. These peels had medicinal values to treat sun-tanned human skin and also as an anti-dote for rashes from the Black poison wood tree contact.

Several pyramids had been restored and can be climbed up. At the same time, several mounds of dirt with tall trees could be seen, hiding pyramids under them. We climbed a few of them and experienced how difficult for the peasants and common men to be climbing up and down these stairs to serve the elite and priests residing at the top of these structures. Some of these structures were serving as temples where ceremonies were conducted. The elite could watch these from the top of other pyramids.

On these grounds, in a low-lying branch of a tree, our guide surprised us by pointing to a nest of the hummingbird species called White-bellied emerald. Through his scope, we were able to see the teeny-tiny chick poking its head out. It was a goose-bump moment, for sure!

We took a stroll around the preserve to look at other structures while the guide simultaneously spotted several other birds for us including a Pale-billed Woodpecker that needed no scope to view or special ears as its pecking on a tree could be heard very well in that area. For an untrained eye, this woodpecker would seem like the pileated woodpecker that could be seen even in the northeast US. The guide educated us the difference which is mainly the color of their beaks.

We also saw a twin tree (Ceiba trees), that gave a unique appearance with its tallness and branches spread out in the canopy. The Mayans had considered this to be a sacred tree. The branches were filled with air plants adding to its surreal nature and belief of Mayans.

On the way back, we spotted a snowy egret waiting for its meal on the rocks in the middle of the Macal River. The Rio Frio Caves is an easily accessible site along the way that needed a short detour on bumpy road. Even though it is not such a huge cave system, it provided for a visual treat with its huge openings on either side of the cave that housed typical limestone structures of any such river caves.

As we wanted to cover couple more areas, we decided not to enter the Rio on pools but just take a view from a vista point.

As a last stop, we took a dip in the river flowing from the Big Rock Falls. But we could only reach there by climbing down 150 ft through a rough staircase. The water temperature was just apt to give you a fitting end to the long day. But the climb back up to the parking lot had almost put you back where you started with the hot sun and resulting sweat 😊

We checked out of Crystal Paradise and the guide himself dropped us off at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel for the second night in Belize. Here, we would stay for the next 3 nights.

Tikal

We had already booked in advance for our trip to Tikal through Mayawalk Tours for the next day. It was a short 7-8 minute walk from the hotel to reach their office where the van would pick us up. We only had a few minutes to grab a breakfast at POP’s. They had something called ‘jacks’ which we never heard off. It is fried tortillas that looked like a fluffy flat bread. I tried the ‘Chaya Pockets’ with these jacks. Chaya is a kind of spinach endemic to Central America.

It's a little less than an hour to get to the Guatemala border from San Ignacio. The immigration process took less than 30min and we got transferred to another van as the tour operators from Belize cannot operate in Guatemala. From the border, it took a little over an hour to get to Tikal grounds including a short break on the way. The road leading to Tikal was pretty good compared to what we saw in Belize, going to Caracol. We passed through Lake Petan Itza and the view of a hill bordering this lake appeared very much like a crocodile in a side view as the guide pointed it out. Within a short distance after entering the Tikal complex, we encountered a huge Ceiba tree and a turkey that was even more colorful than a peacock. It is called Ocellated Turkey.

The guide pointed us to an interesting tree called ‘All Spice Tree’ the leaves of which gave a pleasant aroma when squeezed. It seems that local steep these leaves to make tea.

In Tikal, several structures have been excavated very well and made suitable for visitors to climb up. Before we reached what is called the main plaza, we had opportunities to climb many such structures of which some were supposed to have been temples. It felt that the Chaya pockets that we ate at POP’s was a very much deserved and held us together in the treks we were doing in this enormous campus. The bird eye’s depiction of Tikal complex shows how elaborate the Mayan architecture was. While the restored structures show only the stones and mortars, the guide elaborated about red stain that covered these structures which was also shown in the depictions. The red stains had origins from a local flora species.

As you are walking through, you could see how lush green the area is, filled with bushes, shrubs and trees of all sizes. The forest like area has provided haven to range of flora and fauna as well. We could see a bunch of what is called a ‘Coatimundi’, belonging to raccoon family. They were so used getting fed by the tourists that we witnessed one of them sneakily climbing a snack stand, grabbing a pack of chips and sprinting away!

We saw several howler and spider monkeys as well. In addition, we saw many birds like Oropendula, Collared Aracari, Pale-billed Woodpecker.

The central plaza was very well restored, preserved and maintained very well for the number of tourists that it sees. Tikal is one of the UNESCO heritage sites for a combination its biological diversity and archeological importance. The guide told us many stories about people trying to climb up the stairs of these pyramids only to slip and fall to injuries and sometimes, even death! Over the years, restoration efforts involved building separate set of stairs from behind these temples/pyramids which has given the access to the top. Also, since these stairs are either on the side or back, the fronts presented a clear view for the visitors.

After approximately walking and climbing for 4 hours, we headed out. We were 8 of us as part of this tour group. Conversation with one of the fellow tourists with whom I shared the seat with shared an interesting fact that he is an employee at UN Mission in Copenhagen. He is working with UN’s Renewable Energy section and works with governments of several developing countries. He was in fact visiting Belize on business and had combined a few days of vacation. We struck up some interesting topics on renewable energy, batteries, right-wing and left-wing governments across the world. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a road-side restaurant before reaching the border. The food was so fresh and delicious (felt even better after the tiring hikes on the Tikal grounds!). It was very late in the afternoon by the time we reached San Ignacio.

We took a stroll in the cozy downtown area of San Ignacio where we found a few stores owned by people emigrated from India. One of them struck up a conversation with us voluntarily and gave us some tips about the area. He was so enthused to see some tourists of Indian origin! As we got hungry again, we entered a restaurant nearby called Eva’s and surprised to find that they had a selection of Indian food in their menu. After we got back to the hotel, we relaxed a bit in the pool before hitting the bed.

Xunantunich

As it was very near to San Ignacio, we decided to take the local public bus which took about 30min to reach the town of San Jose Succotz where we crossed the Mopan River on a hand-cranked ferry that carried a few cars as well. It took 2-3 min to cross the river and the path to Xunantunich ruins is a windy hilly road of approximately 1 mile.

This site felt much more peaceful and beautiful compared to the previous two sites we visited. Here as well, we could climb many pyramids directly. The steps felt much broader here and that would have made it unnecessary to build extra stairs for visitors.

Climbing up the main structure there, one could see Guatemalan forests and borders as it was less than a mile away from here. The carvings on the El Castillo, the second tallest structure in Belize after Caracol, is interestingly huge and located midway from the ground to the top.

Xunantunich is serenely located in the middle of what appeared like a tropical forest. Here as well, we could witness some wild-life like spider monkeys, iguanas and wood peckers.

The return journey was in what appeared like a private bus that was air-conditioned. But interestingly, they charged the same BZ$5 for both of us. After we got back to San Ignacio, we took a stroll in the local market and tasted the tender coconut. We bought some ripe plantain and roasted peanuts for our journey next day.

San Ignacio Resort Hotel Bird Watching

We did early morning bird watching around the resort. Spotted Red-Legged Honeycreeper, Yellow winged Tanager, Great Kiskadee, White-crowned parrot, Golden-fronted woodpecker, Keel Billed Toucan, Collard Aracari, Keel Billed Motmot, White Bellied Emerald, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Cave tubing in Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch River

The next day, we checked out of San Ignacio Resort hotel and took the Maya Walk’s Cave Tubing tour. They were able to provide us the transfer to the Belize City Water Taxi terminal after the Cave tubing tour. When we bought the ticket online, the San Pedro water taxi had indicated a specific time for the ticket, which would have been difficult for us to get to if we were to combine the Cave Tubing. The concierge at Mayawalk Rangel patiently and diligently talked to the water taxi people and confirmed that we could take the water taxi any time on the day. This gave us some peace of mind!

The journey to Nohoch Che’en location took us back on the same road to Belize City. A small detour along the way took us to this location of Nohoch Che’en. The guide gave us several interesting facts about Belize in general. One interesting fact is about how British made a treaty with Guatemala and left Belize without delivering it. As a consequence, Guatemala almost went to war with Belize and a mere 2 hours before the military was about to cross the border, a big earthquake had struck Guatemala City preventing the war altogether! Belize and Guatemala seem to be friendly neighbors since then and are waiting for a decision from ICJ.

Before we could start floating on the tube in the river, we carried the tube, crossed the river at a shallow area, followed by walk through a dry cave along the riverbank. These caves are an archeological reserve, consisting of a network of dry and wet limestone caves. We could see several stalactites and stalagmites along the way and passed through some tropical rain forest like area. Here again, we saw the Gumbolimbo and Black poison wood trees. The guide shared with us an interesting story about how he accompanied his father when he was 9-10 yrs old on a horse-back to travel deep into the woods to collect the gum from trees that were supposed to be sold to companies like Wrigley’s to make chewing gums. The travel apparently would take couple of days and he would rest/sleep along the way in any remote farmhouses. The horse actually did know the right way back to house than the boy himself!

The journey through the cave floating in a tube was an interesting experience. The guide had tied several tubes together so that 6 of us in the group floated together. Along the way, wherever the water was shallow, we had to ‘butts-up’ otherwise, the stones in the riverbed were going to have a painful conversation with your butt 😊. Around mid-point, we reached the deepest location of the cave with complete darkness. The headlights in our helmets were the only light, but as there were many tourists in the area, it never felt dark or scary. We got off our tubes and climbed up the nearby rock formation to see a cenote nearby.

On the way back to the starting point, some of us got off the tube and floated our way in the river which felt very refreshing. The water temperature was just apt for the warm weather out there. After the tour, we changed, got back in the van and stopped by a restaurant to grab some lunch. The restaurant had a fresh fruit juice made out of Soursop fruit. It had an interesting taste and flavor that should definitely be tried. From there, we had to part our ways from the rest of the group via another vehicle that took us to San Pedro Water Taxi in Belize City. The ferry ride was approximately 90-100 minutes to San Pedro, with a stop at Caye Caulker on the way.

San Pedro in Ambergris Island

The ferry terminal in Belize City is located in a very busy area of the city. There are a few stores there to dine in and buy stuff, but not much else to do here. So, better to get here not that long before you want to depart. By the time we reached San Pedro, it was dark. We tried to hire a golf cart (which seem to be a main mode of transport in the island!), but the guy couldn’t speak a word of English and was not ready to go to Caribbean Villas where we were going to stay. Luckily a taxi driver was soliciting, and we got into her minivan and found that we will be sharing with another couple going in the opposite direction. So, it took 20-25 min longer before reaching Caribbean Villas. As mentioned in their website, it was really a bargain hotel right on the beach with amazing views. The restaurant onsite had incredible food, including vegetarian options and hosted by amazing people.

Holchan Marine Reserve

We started the next day in a very relaxed manner with breakfast at the onsite restaurant and decided to do our first ever snorkeling. What tempted us is the fact that the reef in Belize is a large one second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This reef was so big in area that it is acting as a buffer to keep the big waves away from the beaches of San Pedro Island. All along the beach, one can only see very mild waves.

To get to Holchan reef area, they had an afternoon trip leaving at 2 p.m. right from the pier at Caribbean Villa. It was a 30-40min into the ocean before we arrived at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. It is a protected area to keep the fishing industry away and to protect the reef system. There is a floating Marine office where we had to pay the fees to be in the area for either diving or snorkeling.

The guide explained how where we were going to swim and how we trace back to our boat. There were several boats in the area forming a ‘parking lot’ in the ocean. From the boat, you can see the ocean floor that was only 6-10 feet deep. The guide mentioned that we will be swimming to areas where the depth could be up to 80-100 ft. My nervousness inside was peaking, but the excitement about seeing the underwater life enthused me. As an incentive, the guide offered me to hold the floating tube that he would be hauling along the way. That gave a sigh of relief for me. So, I had a life float tied around me and on top of that I was able to hold on to the guide’s tube as well. My goggles were very foggy, but I had assumed that’s the way it will be. But, once the guide cleaned it up with a seaweed that was floating around, I realized how much clarity it provided. The very first view underwater with a clear set of goggles gave an adrenaline rush. The world below is so colorful with the variety of fishes and the coral formations. The shapes and colors of the corals were amazing to see with your own eyes for the first time. I couldn’t believe myself that I gathered the guts to do this in the middle of an ocean, especially for my first snorkeling ‘adventure’! The grandeur of the expanse filled with life in motion and the immobile corals created a dream come true for me. Towards the end, on our swim back to the boat, I was able to take my hands off the guide’s tube which provided a sense of confidence that I could do this again sometime. After we got back on the boat, the couple from Brooklyn who didn’t get into the water till then shared a story about how his snorkeling trip in Columbia turned to a disaster due to rough seas. I am glad he didn’t share that story before I got in the water.

After this, there was another stop in about 15min where we got into the water again to swim with sharks! I got all the courage only a few minutes ago and I didn’t think twice before getting into the water again and started swimming with so many sharks and colorful fishes. These were nurse sharks, not the big ones and the bunch of fearless people around made it easy for me to have a good time. That was an experience of my lifetime!

Later in the evening, we took a stroll and found a really good local ice-cream shop, Sugar Shack, run by a French lady from New Caledonia. She came to Belize for diving and decided to stay here. There were some unique flavors of ice cream, and the lady was so happy to share any number of samples to taste, while sharing the story behind the flavor that she decided to introduce. Lots of interesting flavors! We had this dessert before having our dinner at Pineapple’s at Ramon’s Village and walked back along the beach to get to our hotel.

Mexican Rocks

The snorkeling experience at Holchan provided an impetus to try the other location that is also part of the Holchan, but a shallower reef that is in the northern side of the island and named ‘Mexican Rocks’. There were much fewer boats and visitors in this area than the Holchan. We could already see several colorful fish right near the parked boat before even getting inside the water. This was another 45 minutes of beautiful experience. The guide pointed to several areas that could have been missed but for him – a giant lobster hiding deep inside a big coral reef and a sting ray resting on the ocean floor with sand pretty much covering its entire body. It would have been better if I were able to get good video or pictures of myself for memories.

Secret Beach

The concierge in the Caribbean Villa arranged for us a golf cart for half a day as we wanted to visit the ‘Secret Beach’ that is on the west side of the island. It was an interesting ride through crowded and narrow streets of San Pedro. It took about 45-50 minutes to get to Secret Beach.

On the way, we spotted many water-birds – Spoon Bill, Ibis, Egret and Cranes – in close quarters in some areas. But the riding in a golf cart on those bumpy and dirt roads is an ‘interesting’ experience.

The Secret Beach in itself is not up to the hype. Most beach side is well-occupied by different restaurants and some of them had tables and cabanas in the shallow waters. Sitting on those benches and sipping a drink under the shade of the thatched roof is refreshing on the sunny day like that!

Epilogue 😊

Overall, it was an eventful and interesting trip to Belize as a reprieve from the freezing Northeast albeit only for a week. Belize City airport should really plan to have a bigger airport as this seemed to be the most crowded place of all!